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KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF
BUSINESS
Volume
72, March 2007
Publisher: © Key Associates, 2007
ISSN #
1545-8873
http://www.mkkey.com/
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This Issue: "Mindfulness"
Contents:
CULTIVATING A "MINDFUL" STATE OF BEING.
BEING LESS REACTIVE TO THE MOMENT.
CHANGING THE MINDSET OF BUSINESS
AND SOCIAL RELATIONS TO ONE OF
COMPASSION, JOY, AND EQUANIMITY.
BECOMING A MASTER QUESTION-ASKER.
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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Do you find yourself distracted and ill-focused
by the dizzying pace of modern business (busyness)?
Worrying about the future? Re-processing the past?
Mindfulness is an ancient methodology for focusing
awareness and attention to the present and to the
task at hand. Not judging or rejecting what is
happening. Not problem-solving or trying to remove
or change negative thoughts. (More below on the
practice.)
We receive a lot of training on how to develop and
use our minds, but we get very little training in
how to step out of the mental chatter. Learning
how to get out of your mind and into your life,
when you need to, is an essential skill in the
modern world. Leaders must work to create a
more mindful business, fresh, vibrant and creative.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What is "mindfulness"?
The practice of concentration through which awareness
(your radar) and attention (your focus) are heightened,
allowing you to embrace the present.
The past is gone. You can do nothing about it.
The future is not yet here so there is no need
to worry about it. All you have is Now, the present.
Unlike the practices of TM and Zen, which focus on one
item, to exclude all other thoughts, this is a training
of consciousness to place respectful attention on what
is happening at the moment. It gives credence to thoughts,
feelings and sensations, without rejection of them or
imposition of judgment.
Learn more from the site, http://www.mindfulness.com/
and authors Gunaratana (2002) and Wallace (2006).
What are the benefits of "mindfulness"?
Mindfulness means:
- being less disturbed by unpleasant experiences
- overcoming negative thoughts and feelings
- being less reactive to the moment
- relating to all experience--positive, negative, and neutral
- decrease of suffering and increase in well-being
- less preoccupation with the past or future
- less "mindlessness"--e.g., rushing, breaking things,
spilling, forgetting names after just learning them, etc.
The result can be creative energy, clear-headedness,
and appreciative joy--by seeing things freshly,
with clarity, and in a calm state of mind. Mindfulness
is happiness. If you are not appreciating the present
moment, you are not fully alive.
Isn't this just a trendy technique?
Actually, there are inherent values and behaviors
that resonate with good leadership. And this practice
has existed for more than 2500 years.
Ways of being that are associated with this practice include:
- respectful attention
How can I coach others be more "mindful" and embrace change?
We can learn from a technique called "Motivational
Interviewing" (Miller & Rollnick, 2002). This relates
to
the leadership talent, "being a master question-asker."
Dr. Harry Mills of Optimums Solutions (Altamont
Springs, FL) had these ideas, in our interview:
- Ask open questions.
- Keep your focus on understanding where the person is at all points.
- Always check your hypotheses about what the person is thinking/feeling.
(Do not assume you know.)
- Use a process of asking and following their lead.
- Accept their experience for what it is.
- Never give advice without asking permission first.
- Continue to place the interviewee in a position of control.
- Observe for readiness. Until a person is ready to hear you and gives
that permission, it's wasted effort.
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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Mindfulness training on-line
http://www.real-worldmindfulness.com/awakening-awareness.htm?gclid=CMGe-468pIsCFSRHSgodPG_Ffg
Learn to engage others in change through Motivational
Interviewing:
http://motivationalinterview.org/training/videos.html
An e-course on easing stress and decreasing the
desire for external solutions, such as overeating,
overspending, overworking, smoking and drinking:
http://www.thepathway.org/how_it_works.asp
Learn mindfulness as part of the way leaders
maintain themselves
http://www.mkkey.com/courses2/LeadershipCourse.htm
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OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES
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Create your reality through your thoughts
http://www.dreammanifesto.com/wizard?utm_source=amazon&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=mind
Free discussion group for ACT readers
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACT_for_the_Public/
Organize yourself online
http://experiencepublishing.info/organizeyourselfonline/?c=org-43-cr-k-b
Former Key-zines on related topics:
Volume 22,
January 2003 - Personal Change
Volume 25,
April 2003 - When Enough is Not Enough
Volume 31, October
2003 - Optimism
Volume 32,
November 2003 - Renewing Ourselves
Volume 57, December
2005 - Stress Management
Volume
69, December 2006 - Changing Habits
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ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS
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Brantley, Jeffrey. Calming
Your Anxious Mind:
How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You
From Anxiety, Fear, and Panic. New Harbinger
Publications, 2007.
Germer, C.K., Siegel, R.D. & Fulton, P.R. (Eds.)
Mindfulness and Psychotherapy. The Guilford
Press, 2005.
Gunaratana, Bhante H. Mindfulness
in Plain English,
Updated. Wisdom Publications, 2002.
Hayes, Steven C. Get
Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life:
The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New
Harbinger Publications, 2005.
Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever
You Go, There You Are:
Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hyperion, 2005.
Langer, Ellen M. Mindfulness.
Addison Wesley
Publishing Company, (Reprint edition), 1990.
Miller, William R. & Rollnick, Stephen.
Motivational
Interviewing: Preparing People for Change.
(Second edition), The Guilford Press, 2002.
Wallace, B. Alan. The
Attention Revolution:
Unlocking the Potential of the Focused Mind.
Wisdom Publications, 2006.
A mindfulness reading list:
http://www.amazon.com/a-mindfulness-reading-list/lm/
1TGRGG3HA2RZO/ref=cm_lmt_dtpa_f_3_rdssss0/
102-8767665-6406525?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
&pf_rd_s=listmania-center&pf_rd_r=1K0H1SJ6TT484
CRMJFS6&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=253462201&pf_
rd_i=0201523418
